Review: Gunz ‘n’ Butta by Cam’ron & Vado

If you’re looking for that Jansport rap, it ain’t here. Take that shit up the block. Pharoahe Monch just dropped an LP not too long ago and it’s dope, but this is just something else entirely. If you’ve never stood on the couch in the club buggin’ out, you may not get into it. If you’ve never thought about smashing off your probation officer to get out of a piss test, this may be just aiight to you. And that’s fine. Basically, Cam and Vado ain’t reaching or trying to impress people who aren’t already fans. And that’s fine. Trying to spread themselves too thin to too many potential listeners and in turn stepping on otherwise quality product is where a lot of rappers fail. There isn’t really a whole lot here aside from blunts, birds, and bitches, but Cam and Vado still manage to find new ways to flip the same product.

Cam is in his usual cadence as easily one of the funniest MCs out there (“You ain’t carryin’, holmes / I’ll have ’em carry you home / for bein’ juiced up, Marion Jones” on “Face-Off”), whether he intends to be or not. Though reactions to Slime Flu were mixed, Vado seems to be back in the form we heard him in on earlier joints like “Ric Flair” and “Stop It 5”, the latter of which also appears on this album. The nigga-please anthem “Stop It 5”, crew salute “We All Up In Here” and club banger “Speaking In Tungz” have been out for a long time, so their presence here reeks of filler, but they’re still relevant joints, so they don’t take away from the whole of the album.

A lot of the songs here tend to run together, so there’s no need to run through many specifics, though “Killa” and “American Greed” tend to stand out as slap-a-housing-cop music. Listen to those two and you’ll be baggin’ up work in no time. That’s how you spend a tax return. Go follow Harper Hill on Twitter or something if you’re looking for introspection or to be uplifted. This is just something to ride to and that’s OK. People have to stop trying to decide what’s hip-hop and what isn’t or who should be more diverse in their subject matter. There’s something out there for everybody. Gunz N Butta is not classic LP material, but it’s definitely valid for the time being and bound to keep Cam & Vado buzzin’ as a duo.

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